Finding the "Good" in Good Friday

It is Good Friday, and as I look around my house, the past 24 hours and my own heart, I have to look a little deeper to see the good.  My mother-in-law's car broke down with us in it while on the way to Maundy Thursday services at church.  The good is that we were in a parking lot when it happened instead of on the road.  My kitchen island was found infested with roaches.  My 3 year old asked me today, "Why did God make roaches?"  I replied, "For His own glory."  (But I'm not sure how much I really believed it.)  Tonight I know.  The messy reveals the beautiful.  The cross reveals the Savior.   Not only is this Easter weekend, but it is also the last weekend we are in town before we fly around the world for another family adventure in Russia.  We leave in less than 5 days. 

Our mess trying to pack! 

So, as I look around the state of our house and hearts, it would be easy to despair.  BUT for God.  Life is messy and our life is no different.  My husband has been sick with bronchitis for at least 5 weeks, and today spent 2 hours in a doctor's office waiting to see the doctor for the 2nd time to get a prescription.  He goes to sleep every night coughing.  Of course he was hoping to be well before we returned to Russia.  We had to clean out our entire kitchen after fumigating the intruders.  We need to buy a new transmission or another car.  There is a lot of packing to do!  And then there is the ugliness in my heart and that of my children's hearts and in our relationships with each other which can rear its' head especially in times of pressure.   Yet in the ugliness there lies the cross and the redemption of all things.  Did you know that roaches can reduce pests to cotton crops?  And that they are used in medical research?  Maybe there is a purpose for them!  Sickness hurts but shows us our frailty before an all-powerful God.  Car troubles are inconvenient but show us that our "plans" are subservient to God's.  Relationships can be painful but through them we are sanctified.  Jesus' death was not the end.  He rose, is ALIVE; our trials are temporary.  So we rejoice in our troubles, no matter how small or big.  He is GOOD!

Our "empty tomb" project and its' dead grass - symbolic?

Winter Sports

One of the fun things about living in a colder climate is all the winter sports that accompany the weather.  In Alabama, kids play basketball in the winter.  Here you will see kids of all ages walking around with hockey sticks, snowboards, and sleds ready to enjoy all that winter has to offer.  Originally I had thought that the cold temps would make it hard for our family to adjust.  On the contrary, the cold weather has actually been a plus for us in light of the other difficulties Russian city life brings to an American family.  Admittedly, they can’t spend as much time outdoors as they are used to in Alabama, and it takes us a good 30 minutes to get ready to go outside.  However, once they are outside, they really enjoy it!  Here are a few pics of our latest adventures in the snow & cold.

Ice-slide in our courtyard

This actually a handicap ramp, but turned into a winter slide.

Boys making a makeshift hockey practice on an ice block

Sledding on inner tubes

C6 having fun in our courtyard

C5 and his friend practicing hockey

First Real Snow

 

View from our balcony

Boys trying out their new sleds

Happy Birthday Boys!

Can't believe that my two older boys are now 9 & 5 years old!  C9 was excited to hear that he only had 9 more years until he could join the military.  Scary thought!  Besides being a fireman, he wants to join the military.  Both have been pretty constant now for some time.  C5 is a very strong little boy.  His latest interest is wanting to be a boxer.  When I told him that he would have a lot of black eyes if he was a boxer, he decided that wasn't such a good idea.  They are all boys.  C9 is energetic, creative, loud, an inventor, and has an engineer's mind.  C5 is, very strong, inquisitive, and athletic; for those of you who know him, he still loves his thumb and pillow. Parenting these two (and the others) is far from easy, but we are so thankful the Lord brought them to us.  As Scott asked me today, "What would you do without us?"   My reply, "Sit on the beach with a good book and listen to the waves splash?" 

Some pictures from trip to Yuzhno-Sakhalin, Russia

C3 after a few days of treatment

We are so grateful for the many prayers that were lifted up for C3 during the first few weeks of our time in Russia with his allergic reaction scare.  We felt the prayers and the peace of God in it all.  Thank you.

Before

In the waiting room

Kids with Mr. Clint & Mr. Nathan, who helped us tremendously while in Yuzhno-Sakhalin

Just for fun, can you guess what this is?

C8 hugging giraffe - just like his favorite "Gigi"

C4 enjoying himself at a local school park

a painting of Russian matryushka dolls at park

Kids with Miss Elena, our Korean Russian driver and helper while in Yuzhno

Getting Adjusted

It has been a while since my last post.  As we are adjusting to life here, the days rush forward.  While the US is having a heat wave, we are experiencing what the locals describe as a very unusual June.  There have been 2 days in June that I might describe as hot.  The high was probably in the high 70s.  The other days have been wet and rainy or cool,  but mostly very pleasant.  When I say "cool", think mild Southern Alabama winter day.  Last week it rained every day. I was beginning to think we weren't going to see the sun again, but it made an appearance today.  Along with the sun came the children playing in the playground.  For people who are accustomed to harsh winters, you might think that a little rain or damp weather wouldn't prevent them from playing outside.  Quite the opposite, the children all but disappeared last week while the rain and cool weather came through.  Yesterday we were wearing coats and hats.  Today the kids are back in shorts, t-shirts, and light jackets.  It really is quite a contrast from muggy, hot Alabama summers.   I fully realize we will pay a price for such pleasant weather when winter weather arrives in the Fall.

Since my last post, we have been slowly making friends.  Unfortunately, C8 had found a good friend in a little boy named Roma.  Then one day he & his Mom did not come out to play.  That was a week ago, but we think that he might have gone on vacation to their Dacha for the month of June.  Russians are very fond of their "dachas" or summer houses.  This is where they grow their vegetables and escape from city life when the harshness of winter has past.  The kids spent yesterday with an American missionary family with 4 small children.  They had a blast!  Their Mom & I enjoyed a long English conversation.  We even share the same anniversary day & year!  Today at the park I met a Russian lady named Victoria who has 4 children.  This is very rare here in Russia.  Not only does she have 4 children, but she was trained as an English teacher in their university system.  Her English is out of practice but very good.  She lives in our courtyard, although for some reason it was the first time I have seen her.   I met another woman named Marina today with a precious 10 month old boy.  Her Russian is very understandable, and she told me about a Russian friend of hers who lived in Alabama several years ago.  So she knew exactly where Alabama was! 

Russians are culturally wary of foreigners.  I suspect this might particularly be true in parts of Russia where there are few foreigners.  The good thing about being a European American is that we blend in with the people around us walking down the street.   I say this because not everyone is friendly once they know you are not a native Russian speaker (which doesn't take long in our case!). 

If you think of us, pray that the kids & I will both be able to make significant friendships here in our neighborhood.

First impressions

I haven't written because it has just been so busy, and because blogger was down for 2 days for posting. When Scott first came back from Russia he alluded to feeling like he had walked through the wardrobe from Narnia. It does feel a bit like "Narnia". It is just so different from our life in the States. People are still people, and so in that regard things are the same. I will attempt to give you a glimpse in somewhat of a list format

What do I see?
People walking everywhere
Children playing in the courtyard
Tall apartment buildings
City lights
Grass-lined boulevards
Entry gates to every courtyard
Young mothers pushing baby strollers
Large potholes sometimes 10 feet deep in the streets
People sometimes staring at us with our 4 small children

What do I hear?
Cars all through the night
Buses
Car alarms
Squeals of children playing
Russian speakers everywhere

Yesterday we decided to meet one of Scott's coworkers and his Russian wife, Tanya, at one of the largest department stores in the city. There is a large grocery store on the bottom floor. We put on our jackets and hats, walked several blocks, caught a bus, rode for a while, and then walked a couple more blocks to the store. I did some grocery shopping while Daddy took the kids to the top floor for an ice-cream treat. The kids love all the treats. In every grocery store, there are rows of candies, fresh cookies, pastries, breads, and all sorts of yummy delicacies most that you will not find in the States.

We're really going to Russia

It is kind of surreal.  I mean, we have been talking about this for almost 9 years since we came home from Ukraine.  Going back overseas to the former Soviet Union, working there, living there, possibly tentmaking...4 kids later, it is really happening.  I really can't get my mind around the fact that in just 2 weeks, we will be loading up our 12 suitcases and 4 small children and getting on an almost 20 hour plane flight half-way around the world.   Meanwhile, my house remains a mess, piles everywhere to organize, sick children to take care of, laundry to clean, meals to cook, children to teach, projects unfinished...In a few weeks, those things won't change.  But when I ask my Kindergartener what continent she lives on during recitation, she will need to say "Asia".  How strange is that? 

This blog is an attempt to give all of you back home a little peek into our adventures so that you may live vicariously, or most likely just be thankful it isn't you living in sub-Arctic temps next Fall.  By the way, here is a view from hubby's office taken this week.  Just so you know what "Spring" looks like in Khabarovsk.

Visa Troubles

Today we found out that our visas are all coming along nicely with one exception - mine!  Long story short is that I will only have a 90 day visa, while the rest of my family is getting a 3 year visa.  This means that I will have to leave Russia within 90 days, hopefully to a nearby consulate, apply for a new visa, and then re-enter the country.  Hopefully, I can do this from Seoul or Tokyo, but it may also be necessary for me to travel farther west to Europe or even back to the U.S.   While of course a Mommy vacation does sound nice, one by myself to a foreign country doesn't sound as appealing as it did when I was in my 20's and single.  I guess my naivete (is that a word?) has worn off with time.  This, after, our airplane tickets turning into a small fiasco just keeps us on our toes and knees.  I keep wondering just what God is trying to teach us?  Flexibility for one.  That we will surely need overseas.    If anyone has any good suggestions of fun places in Europe or Asia to travel for vacationing & visas, please pass them along!